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| Presented By PhRMA |
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| Axios Vitals |
| By Tina Reed ·Feb 11, 2022 |
| Happy Friday, Vitals readers. Today's newsletter is 776 words or a 3-minute read. |
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| 1 big thing: Convincing holdouts is possible — but it takes time |
 Data: CDC; Chart: Baidi Wang/Axios Doctors and health care workers are still trying to reach the tens of millions of unvaccinated Americans — one conversation at a time. The big picture: Persuading the remaining unvaccinated takes a lot more time and effort, and health care workers who have found success are not writing off holdouts as anti-vaxxers. "You do need to meet people and individualize your approach," said Odilichi Ezenwanne, a primary care physician at the Aaron E. Henry Community Health Services Center in Tunica, Mississippi, where just 50% of the county is fully vaccinated. - "You have to understand their own reasons for restraint or hesitancy ... that's when they really open up to you."
By the numbers: CDC data shows fewer than 100,000 people are getting their first COVID vaccine dose every day, the lowest daily average since the vaccines became available in late 2020. - Fewer than 200,000 people are getting booster doses every day, by far the lowest rate since boosters were recommended last September.
The other side: Taking the time to sit down with people is difficult, and explaining the benefits of the vaccines won't always lead to someone getting the shot, clinicians admit. - But nurturing those relationships has proven to be the best way to change people's minds.
- "I hope it moves people to consider things," said Dimitri Drekonja, an infectious disease physician at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Minneapolis who recently helped a skeptical patient and parent get vaccinated. "Sometimes I find out months later, they did get vaccinated ... and frankly, it makes my day."
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| 2. Some people just don't get COVID |
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| Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios |
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| Some people don't get COVID despite being exposed to the virus — a mystery researchers are trying to unravel, Axios' Eileen Drage O'Reilly writes. Why it matters: Understanding the small cohort of "never COVID" people could lead to new vaccine targets or other protections as the world enters the third year of the pandemic. - Various possibilities for how these people are protected are being tested: immune defenses stemming from other infections, human genetics, viral load or environmental factors. And then there's simple luck.
What they're saying: The idea of resistant people may be "very intriguing," but "we don't know very often why someone did or did not get infected in sufficient detail to nail it," John Brooks, chief medical officer for the CDC's COVID-19 Response Team, tells Axios. Go deeper. |
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| 3. Psychedelic startup Mindstate's $11.5M trip |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| Psychedelic startup Mindstate just scored an $11.5 million vote of confidence in the form of an angel investment from Neuralink co-founder Max Hodak, Axios' Erin Brodwin writes. Why it matters: The deal — which is mammoth for a seed round — reflects investors' taste for psychedelics for behavioral health applications including treating depression, anxiety and PTSD. Context: Psychedelics are hot right now, thanks to factors including: - Clinical trials linking them to positive results in people with depression and PTSD.
- Influential people, such as author Michael Pollan, sharing their personal experiences with the compounds.
- A regulatory environment that's seeing some forms of the drugs legalized in certain instances, such as for medicinal and tribal uses.
👀 What's next: The company is using an AI-powered drug discovery engine to create a pipeline of potential therapeutic compounds. Erin Brodwin co-authors our Axios Pro newsletter on health tech deals. Subscribe at AxiosPro.com. |
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| A message from PhRMA |
| Middlemen are pocketing your discounts |
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| Government price setting policies won't stop insurers and other middlemen from shifting medicine costs to you. Get involved: Use your voice to stand against dangerous health care proposals like government price setting. Get more details. |
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| 4. Mental health app springs for Super Bowl ad |
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| John Legend. Photo: Headspace |
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| Among the chip and beer ads featured during this weekend's Super Bowl, keep an eye out for a spot from mental health app Headspace featuring a silk-robed John Legend. - The 30-second ad campaign called "Love yourself like a Legend" is announcing free "sleepcast" audio stories and a sleep playlist curated by the singer, with Legend inviting viewers to "sleep with me ... sort of."
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| 5. Catch up quick |
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| President Biden listens as 12-year-old Joshua Davis introduces him during an event in Culpeper, Va. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images |
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- President Biden called for the Senate on Thursday to revive the prescription drug pricing piece of his Build Back Better agenda. (Associated Press)
- The Senate is pushing toward a vote on Robert Califf nomination to lead the FDA. (STAT)
- There's been quite a melodrama playing out in the biotech world with FDA advisors ultimately recommending against approval of an Eli Lilly cancer drug because it relied on data solely from China. (Endpoints News)
- The average hospital CEO makes eight times what their average hourly employee makes — and it's time to rethink hospital executives' compensation, authors from the Lown Institute argue. (Health Affairs)
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| 6. Dog of the week |
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| Bonnie. Photo: Bob Merold |
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| Meet Bonnie, a 15-year-old poodle-bichon mix who "rescued us off the streets of Paterson, New Jersey," writes Bob Merold, who submitted her picture. - "She amazes her doctors as a stroke survivor and is a master in the art of begging so her human parents, Jamie and Bob, and big sister Sabrina adhere to her strict routines for food and treats," writes Bob, who advises healthcare startups when not tending to Bonnie's needs.
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| A message from PhRMA |
| Patients need affordable medicines |
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| Government price setting threatens patient access to medicines and innovation. Instead, let's cap out-of-pocket costs and stop middlemen from pocketing discounts. Learn more about how these proposals have potentially devastating consequences for patients. |
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| ❤️ February is American Heart Health Month. What have you done for your heart lately? (Maybe, bring a healthy snack to the big game with the hot wings?) |
 | Bring the strength of Smart Brevity® to your team — more effective communications, powered by Axios HQ. | | |
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